Kallundborg Kirke

de Vulster, medens Basen ligner et omvendt Trapezkapitæl. Desværre er ingen af disse Detailler bevarede; kun en trekan; tet Teglstensblok, som ved den sidste Restaurering fandtes i noget nyere Murværk, er muligvis en Vederlagssten over Kapitælet fra et af disse Vinduer. Lige over Vinduerne saaveL som i hver af Taarnsiderne findes to diagonalt stillede firkant tede Huller, som gaar gennem hele Murtykkelsen. Disse Hub ler har givet Anledning til forskellige Gisninger om deres Be; tydning; den rimeligste Forklaring er, at de har været benyt; tet til deri at anbringe Bomme for et udvendigt Galleri af Træ, der kunde benyttes til Forsvar i urolige Tider 13. — Foroven har hvert af Ydertaarnene otte Spidsgavle som Afslutning paa hver af Taarnsiderne. Som det fremgaar af ældre Tegninger og Fotografier af Kirken (Fig. 2, 16 og 31) fandtes før 1870 kun Spidsgavle paa vestre og østre Taarn, hvorimod de to andre var vandret afsluttede, og det er ikke usandsynligt, at det fra først af har været saaledes, da Kirkens Længderetning derved var markeret i Modsætning til nu, paa samme Maade som man indvendig har givet Korsarmenes Pilastre en rigere Udsmyk; ning i Øst og Vest, i Modsætning til i nordre og søndre Bue. Spidsgavlene er forsynede med spidsbuede Blindinger, der danner tynd Mur mellem tindeagtige Murpartier, der har gi; vet Anledning til den Gisning, at Taarnene oprindelig har staaet med Murtinder foroven, der først senere er blevet for; synede med Paamuring til Gavle og med Mellemrummet mel; lem Tinderne omdannet til Blindinger 14. Desværre er alle de gamle Spidsgavle helt nedtagne og ommurede i 1870, saaledes at det nu er umuligt med Vished at afgøre dette interessante Spørgsmaal; men netop det, at Blindingerne er spidsbuede og har Mønstermuring i Blindingsbunden, tyder paa, at Gavlene er opsat i tidlig gotisk Tid eller i Overgangsperioden mellem romansk og gotisk Tid, hvor man netop yndede at sætte man; ge Gavle ved Siden af hinanden paa vore Teglstenskirker, saaledes som det har været Tilfældet paa Roskilde og Aarhus Domkirkerne 13. Antagelig har Midttaarnets Gavle været paa; murede samtidig med Gavlene paa de øvrige Taarne. At Spi; rene med Spidsgavlene ikke har været oprindelige, synes til; lige at fremgaa af det Forhold, at i hvert Fald Vesttaarnets Spir engang har været brændt, idet der ses smeltet Bly nedad Muren paa Taarnets Nordside 16. — Nu har hvert af Kors; armstaarnene et spidst ottekantet Spir, dækket med Kobber; før Ombygningen i 1870 var alle Spir beklædte med Bly og havde, foruden i Spirtoppen, paa hver Gavlspids en »Brand« med Knop1'. Spirenes gamle Tømmerkonstruktioner blev i 1870 erstattede med nye og kun en Midtstolpe (»Kongen«) af Eg er nu bevaret i det søndre Taarn. Efter en gammel Tradition 18 er Midttaarnet helliget Jomfru Maria, medens de fire Korsarmstaarne bærer Navne efter fire Helgeninder; det østre kaldes Skt. Anna, det vestre Skt. Gjer; trud, det søndre Skt. Maria Magdalena og det nordre Skt. Catharina. the base seems to have been made of stone, presumably granite. The capital is round with two round cushions, while the base resembles an inverted trapezate capital. Un; fortunately none of these details are retained. Under the last restoration a three;sided block of masonry was found in the new walls and may have been a stone of abutment above the capital from one of these windows. Just above the windows, and in each of the sides of the tower as well, are two square openings, set diamond;wise and penetrating the entire thickness of the walls. Many theories are rife as to the purpose of these openings. The most probable explanation is that they served as rests for bars to support an out; side gallery used as a means of defence in turbulent times 13. Each tower has eight pointed gables, one completing each side. As old drawings and photographs of the church show (Fig. 2, 16 and 31), prior to 1870, pointed gables were only found on the west and east towers, whereas the two others were finished horizontally. It is not improbable that it is the original exterior, which in contrast to the present one, thus placed em; phasis on the lengthwise direction of the church, just as, in the interior, the pilasters of the transept in the east and west are more richly decorated, in contrast to those of the northern and southern arches. The pointed gables have pointed arch; facings forming a thin wall between the battlement;like posi; tions of the walls, and this has led to the supposition that the towers originally had battlements above and were first later bricked on the gables and the openings between the battle; ments made into facings 14. Unfortunately all the old pointed gables were torn entirely down and rebuilt in 1870, so that now it is impossible to decide this interesting question with certainty. However the very fact that the facings are pointed; arched and have bricks laid in patterns at the bottom of the facing indicates that the gables were built during the early Gothic period, or during the transition between the Romanes; que and Gothic periods when it was considered desirable to place one gable beside another, as has been done in the Ros; kilde and Aarhus cathedrals l5. Presumably the gable of the central tower was bricked at the same time as the gables of the other towers. That the spires with their pointed gables are not original may be deduced from the fact that the spire of the west tower, at all events, has once burned, for melted lead is found down the walls on the north side of the tower 16. Now, each of the towers of the transepts has a pointed octagonal spire covered witli copper. Prior to the reconstruction of 1870 all the spires were covered with lead and were finished with a rod and ball on top which were also found on each gable point 17. The old timbered constructions of the towers were replaced in 1870 by new, and only one original central beam, »the King«, is to be found in the south tower. According to an old tradition 18 the central tower is dedi; cated to the Holy Virgin, while the four towers bear names after four saints, the eastern is called Saint Anna, the western Saint Gjertrud, the southern Saint Maria Magdalena and the northern Saint Catharina. 16